


Steady as she Goes

by LadyKnightOfHollyrose



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Introspection, Pre-Relationship, iwatobi white day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 05:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1334164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnightOfHollyrose/pseuds/LadyKnightOfHollyrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s something of a surprise to Kou when she finds out that Nagisa of all people is going to be helping out with hair and make up for their class’ production for the School Festival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Steady as she Goes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for michelle as part of **[Iwatobi White Day 2014](http://iwatobiwhiteday.dreamwidth.org)**

It’s something of a surprise to Kou when she finds out that _Nagisa_ of all people is going to be helping out with hair and make up for their class’ production for the School Festival.  
  
Kou, who has managed to get a fairly prominent role, is more than a little dubious when she looks over to the table he has set up on one side of the classroom. It’s their first dress rehearsal, and although she knows it’s not the real deal, she wants to put across the best performance she can.  
  
It doesn’t help that when she’s first told, the image that pops into her mind is that one picture of Makoto-senpai that Haruka-senpai has on his phone; his proud looking brother and sister on either side of him, Makoto’s eyelids are decorated with mismatched eye shadow, and has little clumps of his hair up in a variety of bobbles and clips.  
  
If Nagisa takes this lightly, she’ll kill him.  
  
She goes over to his makeshift studio and settles into her chair. Nagisa looks up from where he’s fiddling with some hair accessories and gives her his usual grin. Her brows furrow in a frown and she opens her mouth, about to scold him-  
  
Nagisa stops her, a brief brush of his fingers over her forehead wiping away the crease in her brow before he grabs her chin and gently repositions her. He stares at her for a moment, and Kou can feel her cheeks start to flush at his proximity. His gaze is direct in his concentration and so much more intense than normal; even through the barrier of his bangs, the absence of his usual light-hearted cheer is actually a little bit disconcerting.  
  
He pours a little moisturiser into her palm and letting her massage it into her skin herself as he picks through a box, checking various bottles against her skin until he finds the one he wants. Then he sets about dabbing the foundation onto her face with careful strokes of a sponge. She’s surprised by how _much_ care he takes, blending the paste down to the top of her throat.  
  
He _really_ seems to know what he’s doing.  
  
She stays silent as he works, feeling the soft bristles of a brush dance across her cheek when he adds a little colour to her cheeks. His hand is steady as he brushes a thin line over each of her eye lids to finish the look.  
  
When he passes her the mirror, she can’t help the way her eyes widen in awe. One of her hands move to her face of its own accord; Nagisa smacks it away, playfully.  
  
“You’re going to smudge all of my hard work at this rate,” he says, lips twisted into a dramatic pout.   
  
Kou rolls her eyes and lets her hand drop before he can scold her some more - he still has to style her hair after all.  
  
He tugs her hair out of its usual pony tail with relative ease, running his fingers through her locks a couple of times before taking a brush to it. It’s remarkably relaxing - and who knew that relaxing and _Nagisa_ could ever go in the same sentence?  
  
She clears her throat, trying to claw her wondering thoughts back in to some semblance of order.   
  
“How did you get to be so good at all this?”  
  
Nagisa’s hands don’t falter at all as he sections off her hair and starts a braid that feels like it’s complicated. Still, he doesn’t tug at her hair at all, even as he weaves her hair into an intricate pattern. “Ah, I got praised by Gou-chan! I don’t have my phone or I’d have recorded it for posterity; this doesn’t happen every day~” Kou resists the urge to turn in her chair and glare at him; it would be pointless anyway, she’s fairly certain that after half a year of telling him to call her ‘Kou’ he’s not about to start now. “Anyway,” he continues, completely oblivious to Kou’s internal monologue, “there have to be _some_ perks to essentially being your sisters’ human dress up doll. You can learn a lot just from watching.”  
  
She feels him sliding a couple of grips into her hair, presumably to hold the style up, and then he’s withdrawing. He steps around so that he’s facing her again, and leans in close. Again, Kou feels a blush creep up her throat. She can smell the faint scent of chlorine wafting from _his_ neck as he adjusts something or another. He pulls back a little so that his eyes are now in line with Kou’s, which is _slightly_ better. She can still feel her heart rate pick up a little though.  
  
Nagisa hovers there a moment, pink eyes roving over her face. The he leans in again, teasing a couple of locks of hair out of the style to frame her face.  
  
He gives her another critical once over - Kou struggles not to squirm - before giving a nod of satisfaction and grinning widely.  
  
He passes over the mirror again, and Kou sees her eyes widen comically back at her.  
  
It’s not immediately obvious that she’s even wearing any make up, subtly as it has been done, but it emphasises her bone structure, bringing out the shape of her cheeks and the colour of her eyes. Her hair looks elegant, and Kou can’t help but feel impressed.  
  
“Guess you’re good for something after all,” she grins. Nagisa snorts.  
  
“Two bits of praise in one day? I _am_ going up in the world.” He snickers to himself for a moment. “I’m thinking of giving Rei-chan a make over the next time he over does the studying and falls asleep at lunch time - want to be my partner in crime?”  
  
Kou snorts at the thought, and doesn’t hesitate. “I’m so there.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have absolutely no idea where the idea for this came from, but it just kind of hit me in the face so I went with it ^^’ I’m not sure on their characterisations since a) it’s my first time writing either of them and b) it ended up being fairly introspective. Also, with Nagisa looking so intense? Blame the picture where he’s holding the snooker/pool cue thing =3=
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading!


End file.
